Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the optimization of content for AI assistants and search systems that provide ready-made answers as an alternative to traditional Google search. While SEO helps a website reach Google’s top rankings, AEO makes your brand the answer that ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI, or Claude will cite to users.
What led to the emergence of AEO? First and foremost, the shift in user behavior. People have stopped scrolling through search engine pages. Instead, they receive ready-made and more personalized answers directly in AI chats. From January to May 2025, traffic from AI assistants increased by 527%.
General trends for 2025:
In simple terms: if your business doesn’t appear in AI answers, you’re losing a significant portion of potential customers.
Let’s examine the key factors that determine AEO success in 2025:
Leading companies are already integrating AEO into their marketing strategies. Next, we’ll review 10 leading agencies that specialize in AEO and help businesses remain visible in the era of AI search.
Here are the best AEO (answer engine optimization) agencies that stand out for their expertise, innovative methods, and proven results.
A specialized AEO agency built exclusively around AEO from the start, with all experts having 10 years of SEO experience and seeing the prospect in the new direction of AI Search. They offer a full cycle of services: from auditing current visibility in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI to implementing structured data and optimizing content for LLM algorithms. The team works with semantic search, adapts texts for natural language processing, and creates content strategies for voice queries. They also help set up brand mention monitoring in AI answers through tracking systems. They promise results within 4-8 weeks.
Best For: global market companies that want to quickly gain visibility across all major AI platforms (ChatGPT, Google AI Overview, Claude). Ideal for medium-sized businesses and fast-growing startups in B2B and B2C segments.
Graphite is a full-stack growth team that treats AEO as part of a bigger engine — SEO, content, and conversion all under one roof. They’ve worked with category leaders like Webflow, Notion, and MasterClass, pairing seasoned operators with in-house AI tooling to move faster than old-school playbooks.
On the doing side, their playbook leans on topic-led content and programmatic SEO, plus “AI citation” insights, international SEO, CRO/growth design, and tight KPI tracking, so answers are easy for AI systems to quote and for humans to trust. When foundations need work, they’ll handle revamps and migrations without losing the thread on measurement.
BetterAnswer is an agency born from personal experience: in 2024, their own projects saw traffic growth from AI chats of 1200% over 7 months. That’s when the team realized users were massively shifting to new platforms and created BetterAnswer. They combine SEO expertise, reputation management, and LLM algorithm research. Their services include: content optimization for ChatGPT, Google AI, Claude, and Perplexity, structured data markup, entity optimization (creating brand “entities” that AI can easily recognize), and content quality control from an AI-readability perspective.
Best For: brands in finance, technology, and eCommerce, especially those operating in US and European markets. Suitable for both startups and enterprise companies.
This team started testing strategies for generative AI search before most people had opened a ChatGPT account. They position AEO as a natural extension of smart SEO and offer a comprehensive approach: brand and competitor online presence audit, structured data optimization, content improvement for conversational queries, and monitoring how AI tools display your brand. Arc Intermedia also helps create FAQ-format content that AI platforms perfectly “capture.”
Best For: B2B companies, SaaS, healthcare, legal, and educational services. Especially valuable for brands seeking a long-term partner with deep understanding of the AI ecosystem.
An Indian digital agency with 6 years of experience in the international market. OMR Digital offers AEO as part of a comprehensive marketing package that includes SEO, PPC, SMM, and web development. Their advantage is price/quality: they offer personalized strategies for all business types, from small to enterprise. In the AEO direction, they work on: content optimization for AI Overview and ChatGPT, data schema implementation, and website adaptation for mobile AI search. They have over 20 countries in their client portfolio.
Best For: small and medium-sized businesses with limited budgets, startups looking to enter international markets. Also suitable for companies from India, Asia, and developing countries.
A Ukrainian agency with extensive experience in B2B SEO and content marketing, actively developing the AEO direction for AI search. Luxeo works with large corporations (Luxoft, Kiwi.com) and startups, helping them build lead generation systems through organic traffic. In the AEO sphere, they offer: content optimization considering how LLMs process information, work with structured data and schema markup to improve visibility in AI answers, and creation of expert content that AI will consider an authoritative source. Special attention is paid to technical SEO complexity, which is critical for AI indexing.
Best For: B2B companies, SaaS, IT outsourcing, fintech. Ideal for medium and large businesses from US and European markets. They work with clients who value a strategic approach and long-term results.
A Minneapolis-based agency offering Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) as a separate service. They ask: “Are you losing traffic to AI?” and help you appear in ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot. Perrill works on LLM optimization, creates content that organically fits AI citation, and sets up mention monitoring. They also integrate AEO with traditional marketing: web design, SEO, PPC, and email campaigns.
Best For: US companies (especially Midwest) working in B2B, professional services, and healthcare. Suitable for medium and large brands with long-term goals.
Gorilla positions itself as a pioneering full-service agency from Phoenix. They specialize in healthcare, legal, professional, and home service businesses and offer Answer Engine Optimization as a way to ensure visibility in generative AI systems. Their services include: optimization for ChatGPT, Google AI, and other platforms, generation of high-quality traffic that converts, and creation of content with clear answers to user questions.
Best For: healthcare clinics, law firms, professional services, and home services in the US. Ideal for local and regional businesses.
Gorilla positions itself as a pioneering full-service agency from Phoenix. They specialize in healthcare, legal, professional, and home service businesses and offer Answer Engine Optimization as a way to ensure visibility in generative AI systems. Their services include: optimization for ChatGPT, Google AI, and other platforms, generation of high-quality traffic that converts, and creation of content with clear answers to user questions.
Best For: healthcare clinics, law firms, professional services, and home services in the US. Ideal for local and regional businesses.
A B2B SEO agency focused on pipeline growth through GEO (Generative Engine Optimization). RevenueZen helps brands become the answer in AI search. Their approach is based on SME interviews (subject matter expert interviews) and creating thought leadership content that AI considers authoritative. They offer: GEO strategies for brand positioning in ChatGPT, AI Overviews, Perplexity, content systems based on company expert interviews, and integration with analytics to track pipeline from AI sources.
Best For: B2B SaaS, technology companies, consulting. Ideal for medium and large businesses seeking long-term growth through organic and AI visibility.
An organic growth agency for B2B software companies. They transform SEO, LLM, and content into growth channels. Their services include: research and strategy for AI search, production of high-quality content that AI can cite, performance monitoring through specialized dashboards, and iterative optimization based on data.
Best For: B2B software and SaaS companies of medium and large size. Minimum budget $10,000/month, so this is an option for businesses with serious investments in organic growth.
Theory is good, but what does AEO actually deliver? Let’s look at real examples of companies that have already achieved results:
Enviropack, which specializes in eco-friendly packaging for the food industry, worked on AEO optimization. The result? When a user asks ChatGPT: “eco-friendly food packaging suppliers in the UK”, Enviropack appears first in the answer. Moreover, this isn’t just a mention—AI provides a detailed description: location, hours of operation, product specialization, and a direct link. The company received a steady flow of inquiries specifically from AI assistants, and the quality of leads turned out to be higher than from traditional search because people were already “pre-qualified” by the AI recommendation. You can verify this yourself 🙂
The largest travel company in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, Baltic Travel started working on AEO and now dominates ChatGPT on queries like “Which travel agency is the best?” in their region. In the first 7 months after implementing the AEO strategy, they recorded a 1200% increase in traffic from AI chats. Interestingly, the conversion rate from this traffic was 30% higher than from Google, as users came with greater trust and readiness to purchase.
These examples show how the right AEO agency can deliver long-term business growth.
AEO is quite a new direction, and not everyone offering such services truly understands how LLM algorithms work. Here’s what to look for:
Experience working specifically with AEO, not just classic SEO. Ask which platforms they optimize (ChatGPT, Google AI, Perplexity, Claude?), whether they have case studies with real results in AI output. If an agency simply “rebranded” SEO as AEO, run away.
Technical expertise in structured data and schema markup. AEO is impossible without schema markup. Check whether the team knows how to work with JSON-LD, Open Graph, and entity markup. Ask how they plan to make your content “LLM-readable.”
Ability to work with content according to AI logic. The ability to create texts that an algorithm can present as a direct and clear answer is a priority. Make sure the agency has editors or copywriters with experience in Q&A content.
Transparent analytics and results forecasting. A good agency will show how they measure success in AI output, what metrics they track (for example, the percentage of appearances in ChatGPT or Google AI Overview answers), and give realistic expectations regarding timelines and result volumes.
AEO is a chance to claim your market share right now, while competitors are doubting or pretending that “old SEO is still enough.” In reality, ignoring AEO means moving backward: users are increasingly searching for information through AI assistants.
Look at Google. The zero-click search results now consist of AI answers, and more and more people don’t even reach the top 3 results. And the younger audience doesn’t open a browser at all—they open ChatGPT or Perplexity.
So you either become part of this new ecosystem or give up your place to those who have already adapted. Keeping up with the times means being where the user gets their answer. And today, that means AEO.
If you want to feature your AEO company on this list, email us or submit a form in the Top Choices section. After a thorough assessment, we’ll decide whether it’s a valuable addition.
What makes AEO different from SEO?
SEO focuses on general rankings, while AEO ensures your content appears in direct answers, snippets, and voice search.
Do small businesses need AEO services?
Yes. Smaller brands can compete more effectively by targeting answer-based queries, often outranking bigger players.
How quickly can I see results with AEO?
Most businesses notice improvements in 3–6 months, depending on industry competition and strategy execution.
Are AEO and structured data the same thing?
No. Structured data supports AEO but does not replace it. AEO also includes content strategy and intent alignment.